10 Nixon Watches That Even the Enthusiasts Will Love

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When it comes to entry-level watches, there are few brands out there as popular as Nixon these days. Their current collection is massive, including over 750 watches in their men's collection alone. Though some of these watches are monstrous and gaudy things we wouldn't recommend for anyone, the list does include quite a few tasteful offerings that are an excellent jumping-off point for anyone who's just getting into watches and doesn't want to spend a ton of money. We've skimmed Nixon's catalog from cover to cover to find you our top 10 picks that are well-designed in a way that'll still get you a nod from any serious watch geeks you might cross paths with.

Starting with this simple and slim dressy model is a great choice, especially for those who spend their 9-to-5 behind a desk. The elegant square case and minimal dial remind us of the lovely Nomos Tetra, which is a favorite of ours from the German brand that received a slight update in 2016. Measuring 36 millimeters across, it's a great pick for anyone regardless of gender so long as your wrists aren't massive.

The Passport is a bit on the pricey side for Nixon, but it's also quite functional for those who travel frequently. Its additional black hour hand is used to track a second time zone, and its rotating bezel lists off 24 time zones, so its wearer can easily tell what time it is elsewhere in the world. Visually it slightly reminds of of IWC's new Timezoner Chronograph, though at a whopping 51 millimeters, it's quite a bit larger.

We love a good dive watch, as you may recall from our recent roundup of dive watches for all budgets, and this example from Nixon ticks all the boxes. It has a rotating outer bezel, easy-to-read luminous indices, a soft silicone strap, and most importantly a dive rating of 300 meters.

For fans of all things vintage, the C45 takes inspiration from the classic military field watch. Its dial has a slightly creamy tone to it, similar to aged enamel, and its bund-style strap is a proper throwback to standard-issue german military watches of WWII.

Still a vintage nod, but in a completely different way, the dial on the Safari Deluxe uses an oval "surfboard" surround that highlights its subdials similarly to what was seen on a number of funky vintage chronographs from the '70s, like this Bulova Deep Sea chronograph that sold via our friends at H.Q. Milton recently.

On the opposite end of the pendulum swing, Nixon's line includes a handful of watches that are perfect for any avid surfer out there. Touted as the "world's smartest tide watch," the Ultratide links to Surfline's real-time tide and wave reporting, and through geolocation can point you in the direction of the best waves around. It covers over 3,300 locations, and can even be set to provide alerts for when your fave surf spots are experiencing serious swells.

Minimally designed watches are still a popular choice, and at $200 the Nixon Sentry is a pretty safe bet. It also plays a bit to the growing popularity of bronze watches by using a bronze crown and indices.

There's a particular level of nerdy you can get when it comes to watches, and on a scale of zero to Big Bang Theory, well, this R2-D2-themed watch is about as far to one side as you can get. If R2 isn't your thing, Nixon offers plenty of Star Wars-themed watches for you to choose from.